Remember my Beating Heart
by sasher
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia's numbered days just got shorter, due to high blood pressure, chest pains, heart attacks, vomiting and depression. But when your heart, that little beating thing inside, has been forgotten by your body, how will you know it's still there? NatsuxLucy - heart disease story
1. Phase 1- Finding out

**It was a regular day in Magnolia. And it was a regular day for Lucy Heartfilia, at the start. But it turned out, that very day was the worst in her life, and all the days she had left after that. **

She entered the guild with the biggest smile anyone could possibly have; probably even bigger than Natsu's. Everyone turned to greet her, washed in the warm and inviting aura surrounding the blonde mage.

Lucy Heartfilia walked towards the bar to greet the beautiful bartender. But Mira was nowhere to be seen. She looked around and found everyone at their usual place. But no Mirajane was to be found.

Then someone tapped her shoulder. Lucy turned around and came face to face with the Strauss elder. "Ah! M-Mira!", she jumped back. "W-where were you?!"

"Oh... just up and about..", Mira whistled suspiciously. "So Lucy, by the way. Do you, by any chance... like Natsu, as in- _more_ than a friend? Do you _looove_ him?"

Lucy, although used to the constant nagging of this subject, was taken a back at the sudden question. Why now, why again?

She sighed, waving her hand in front of her. "Sure, I love him. But nothing more than a brother and a comrade."

"Are you suuureee?", Mira rolled her tongue.

"Yes, yes."

Mira thought a bit. How can she squeeze the truth out of this doll? Just before Lucy walked away, the barmaid grabbed her arm and spun her around with her demon-like strength.

She said the first thing that came to mind, "Well, Natsu and Lisanna are dating! S-so... um.. its good that you don't like him! Heheheh...", she rubbed the back of her head, laughing.

Lucy closed her eyes and tried to even her shallow breaths. She could feel her blood continue to run through her veins, but faster. She opened her eyes and tried to move back. She wanted to be anywhere but here. So she tried.. she tried turning around and exit the building. It was so easy, just a few more steps, then she could go anywhere she wanted. It was so easy.

But the whole world was lagging. It wasn't just in her mind, well, maybe it was- but to her, everything was literally lagging. Her vision was blurry, yet clear, and it felt like hours before she managed to turn around. And while she was busy turning around, she could feel her blood flow faster. A rush, a painful rush. Its like they were running a marathon in there. But there was no way Lucy would know that, because she was still in the guild having the hardest time breathing, cold sweat breaking out, fighting back the urge to vomit all over the place. All the whilst, clutching her heart; her hammering, gnawing heart, beating ever so fast in her frail body.

Meanwhile, Mirajane stood in front of Lucy, fidgeting and fangirling. Judging from Lucy's current expression and body language, it seems that she bought it and wasn't too happy right now. Mira squeeled and jumped around. So Lucy does have feelings for Natsu! But she doesn't seem to realize it just yet.

Mira couldn't wait to tell Lucy the big news! And everyone else! AND NATSU! _Okay, so this is how the confession goes.. no- wait! I need to find the perfect outfit for Lucy and Natsu! Then after that, the wedding o-or wait.. the party after the confession!_ Mira's head was going crazy at the very spot. Then she snapped out, remembering that Lucy still believed that her crush was dating someone!

"Lucy!", she smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Guess what? Natsu isn't actual-"

"G-gomen, Mira.. I-I have to take care of...", Lucy stammered, trying her best to keep up. Mira saw how Lucy's legs were trembling and how pale she was getting, deciding to hold of the overwhelming information.

"A-are you feeling well, Lucy?", she brushed the bangs from the Celestial Mage's face.

She waited awhile for her answer, gulping every now and then from the saliva building up in her mouth due to an uneasy feeling in her stomach. Then, Lucy lifted her head up. Her eyebrows were twitching and she was biting down her bottom lip.

The takeover mage cupped her pale face and shivered. It was cold and sweaty. "L-Lucy?", Mira whimpered. "A-are you feeling well? Whats wrong?"

Lucy tried to smile a reassuring smile, but to Mira's eyes, it was a failed attempt. "I-I... just-t caught... a-a cold..!", the blonde stuttered, looking into the other's eyes. "I-I think.. I j-just need to r-rest in- m-my aparm-ment.."

"Are you sure? Do you need any help getting there? I could ask Freed-"

"N-no..!", Lucy protested. "I-I'm fine! I-I think I can m-manage.." She sighed and got up. "See? I-I'm already getting a-a little bit better!", she smiled.

Mira wasn't convinced, but she knew that once Lucy had made her decision concerning her, there was no changing her mind. Mira sighed and stood up, hugging the celestial mage around her shoulder. "Don't ever! Scare me like that again!"

"Hahaha..", Lucy laughed weakly, returning the embrace. "I p-promise..."

After a while, Mirajane let go and patted her back. "Get better, okay?", she uttered. She knows how driven Lucy can be and how selfless she was all the time, but no matter how many times the white-haired mage bugged her about taking care of herself, she was as stubborn as Erza! And if she knew anything that would worry the guild and the people she loved, she would keep it all to herself. But that's Lucy Heartfilia, and Mirajane loved all of her. Everyone did.

She watched the blonde girl drag her feet out of the guild and eventually, out of sight. There was no going after Lucy when she set her eyes on something, but still... there was this uneasy feeling she couldn't shake off.

Lucy trudged on the muddy path, careful not to trip over anything. She somehow knew that if she happened to fall, there was no getting up. Instead of going back to her apartment like she promised Mira, she had decided to go to Porlyusica. Something was really wrong; it was nothing near to a cold. It was something worse. And just standing up and moving her mouth to speak felt like hell. Her muscles ached, her stomach boiled and gurgled, her lungs didn't want to occupy much air and her heart decided to stop loving her too.

Lucy unexpectedly reached the giant tree that housed the old, healing mage by miracle. She knocked on the door twice, her arm hurting too much to knock more. And her outfit wasn't helping either. Tight tank tops, short shorts and flip flops didn't do anything to help breathing or other health problems.

The door creaked opened a bit and Lucy could barely make out one crimson red orb. Then she heard a sigh before the whole door swung open, revealing a pissed-looking woman with shiny, purple hair.

"What do you want?!", Porlyusica screamed.

Lucy sighed and smiled a relief smile. "T-thank... god..", she gasped. She really was thankful that the woman opened the door despite her hate for humans, really. And with a happy smile and pained eyes, she finally collapsed in front of the old lady.

Porlyusica jumped back when the blonde Fairy Tail mage fell in front of her. She had no words. She was just... shocked. The old woman sighed and kneeled down next to Lucy. She grasped both her wrists and attempted to drag her into her dwelling.

"Really... they think I'm their family doctor or something..", she groaned and threw Lucy onto a bed. Her lifeless body hit the soft matress and bounced before settling down and sinking in to the softness.

Porlyusica got some blankets and draped it over her the blonde mage. She, then, sat down on a stool next to the bed and set a damp towel over her forehead.

She could see sweat marks on Lucy's tanktop and beads of sweat dripping down her skin. "Oh, for Mavis' sake, its just a cold..", the woman whispered under her breath. Really, these people think she has the tolerance to fix all their problems!

But just for precaution, she decided to check Lucy for more health issues, so she wouldn't come back soon. Her face was pale, of course. She must've been pushing herself again, like always. Her breathing was shallow, it didn't even balance out like it should when in sleep. Porlyusica checked her ears, her mouth, her nose and her eyes. Lastly, the old woman checked her heart. She put a hand over Lucy's chest and closed her eyes, attempting to read it.

She sensed it was crunched up and was smoothening out again. And it was beating fast, too fast. She also noticed that her heart wasn't getting the amount of blood it needed. It was getting less, to the point where it could be fatal. At this, Porlyusica's eyes widened. Her jaw hung open and she felt her hand trembling.

_No... it couldn't be..._ Porlyusica gulped and denied the result of her symptoms. _I-It's probably something else! She's too young..!_

She decided to do more tests to avoid giving in to the momentary depression and break down. But the more she did the tests, over and over, the more the unwanted outcome became the only outcome. Finally, she threw down the syringes and the papers she gathered and fell to the ground, crying silently. This wasn't supposed to happen. Lucy, had decades and decades to live and to be human. Porlyusica knew that whenever she looked at the Fairy Tail mages. She knew that there was nothing ahead of them that could ruin their bond and happiness.

.

.

Unless your own heart is forgotten by your body.

There's no mistake. Not at all. Lucy Heartfilia had developed a deadly disease inside of her. A disease no one can recover from. There was no way to cure it, no way to slow it down. There was only one ending; but then again, there was only one from the very beginning. She was going to die very soon. Very, very soon.

Nothing can stop this. Not even Fairy Tail- yes, not even that rowdy bunch who saved the saints from an inevitable death, who stopped the resurrection of a demon and saved an island, who fought a whole castle full of madness, who fought a mad men and tore down a castle made of etherion, who saved Magnolia from a thunderstorm, who saved everyone by stopping 6 crazy dark mages, who travelled to another world and saved everyone once more, who survived a dragon attack and came back years later, better than ever, yes- the guild who managed to become the top in Fiore, no matter what or how big the obstacle they came across. And now, they have finally found something that was far worse than they could've ever imagined, than they could've ever interpreted.

There is nothing worse, than your heart being forgotten by your body. Lucy Heartfilia has somehow developed Ischemic Heart Disease. And there was no way to save her from her faith.


	2. Phase 2- Finding Hope

** What happens when the heart stops beating?**

She was unmistakably near the end. I don't know how far it is, I don't know how long she has- but she was near. And all I can do is sit beside her unconsious body sleeping a deep sleep.

She probably knows that it's something serious. But how can I tell that little fragile girl that she was going to die?

Lucy slowly opened her eyes, her breathing has fortunately gone back to normal. She turned to me and smiled meekly. "Porlyusica-san...", she breathed in a hoarse voice.

I looked down at her, trying to conceal the guilt written all over my face. But I could see that she saw through me.

"Am I going to die?", she looked up at the ceiling and smiled weakly.

"I-I'm sorry, child..", I choked back my tears. "There's.. there's nothing I can do.."

"Its alright.", she laughed. " Its going to happen anyways. Can you promise me something?"

"What is it, child?", I reached for her hand and squeeze it as gently as I can.

"Don't let the others find out... not yet."

Her voice was wavering and small, yet it seemed as if she was pushing herself to speak strongly. Her body was trembling and cold. Her eyes were empty.

"Do you know..?", I whispered.

She laughed. "Of course, I do. It runs in the family...", the blonde closed her soft, brown eyes and sighed. "I was expecting it..."

"Your mother...", I gasped, remembering what Makarov had told me. He did not know how she died, nor anybody in Fairy Tail did- she just... died. Hearing that Lucy, her daughter had known all along and that she has inherited the same disease.. was shocking.

She got up slowly, her elbows were shaking as it supported her body's weight. I put my hands on her back. "You shouldn't-"

"I don't have much time left.", she whispered, continuing to lift herself up. "I want to spend it with them."

My body acted unaccordingly to my will. I helped her up and led her outside the house. I looked into the distance and saw the town. "How did you get all the way here?"

"I had to make sure. And I needed help.", she whispered. "You _can_ slow it down, right?" The blonde looked at me hopefully.

"Yes, I can.", I replied. "But there's no way-"

"I know.", she turned back to the direction of the town. "I already know."

It took quite some time, but we finally reached Fairy Tail. By now, Lucy was panting heavily and she was shaking more violently. She tried to calm herself down, only making it worse.

"A-are you okay?", I set her down on the cobbled path in front of the guild's doors.

"Y-yeah... I just c-can't stop s-shaking..!", she crouched over and held her stomach.

"Do you still want to go in?"

"Y-yeah.. just tell t-them that I-I have a c-cold!", Lucy stuttered. She tried getting up, only to slump down in fail. I sighed and gripped her arm gently, helping her to stand up. But the problem were her legs; they weren't working too well.

**Gray's POV**

I was walking back to the guild, finally managing to outrun Juvia. It's nice that I have an admirer, but there's such a thing as moderation.

"-I-I have a c-cold!", a weak voice uttered. I walked closer to the guild's entrance and found Lucy and Porlyusica. Lucy was trying to get up but her legs were trembling a bit _too_ much. Then Porlyusica grabbed her arm and tried helping her up, but she still fell.

I walk closer and was able to make out the blonde's features. Not anymore was she bright, beautiful and happy. Right now, she looked like shit. Her face was paler than Kain Hikaru from Grimoire Heart. Her eyes were baggy and cloudy. Her hair was all over the place and she couldn't stop her damn shaking. Her face was all crunched up, like Natsu's battle face, and all she was trying to do was get up. How bad is her cold?

"Oi, Lucy!", I called out, walking towards them. She jumped and grasped her heart.

"God, Gray!", she gasped. "You scared the crap out of me!"

"Do that again, I'll hit you with my broom!", Porlyusica slapped me upside my head.

I rubbed my head and kept my distance from her. "Need any help?", I held out a hand to the blonde. She looked up at me and smiled.

"N-No, thank you. I-I have a c-cold, and I-I don't want y-you to catch-"

"I ain't gonna' catch any cold. I'm an ice wizard, remember?", I smirked, moving my hand closer to her.

She waved her hand in front of her face. "M-my legs a-aren't working t-that well...", she laughed weakly.

I looked down at her and retreated my hand. "Okay, then.", I sighed. I crouched down and placed my hands on her waist. With a thrust, I slung her over my shoulder and carried her into the guild, followed by a screaming Porlyusica.

I looked ahead and saw Mira noodle-dancing with hearts for eyes. Everyone was staring at us, wide-eyed. Natsu pushed everybody out of the way and stood in front of me. He was silently fuming, his fists were clenched and his jaw was tightly locked. "What the hell are you doing to Luce...?!", he growled.

"Calm down, ancient pistol.", I replied, walking past him. "She can't stand up, so I'm helping her."

"Then get your filthy hand off her ass.", he snarled behind me.

I turned around with a confused face. Then I realized- my hand _was_ on her ass. I panicked and threw her over my shoulder to the seething Dragon Slayer. He caught her and carried her bridal-style.

Natsu looked down at her and his eyes widened. So did everybody else. Everyone saw how bad she looked. Her eyes were closed while she clutched onto Natsu's top.

"L-Luce!", Natsu stuttered. "W-what's wrong?!"

Porlyusica appearred beside him. "She's sick. But don't worry, its not contagious or anything.", she answered. "There's no... there's no medicine, we just need to wait it out.", the old woman sighed, looking down. But for some reason, I thought I saw a glint of sadness in her eyes.

"Is there anything we can do to help?", I spoke up. She looked at me with a pained face. Then she relaxed and looked back down at Lucy.

"Spend your time with her as much as possible. If she needs help, help her no matter how stubborn she may get. Don't be too rough and if you may aproach her, be gentle.", the old woman stated. "She can't go on any missions while she is sick and if her health gets any worse, bring her to me."

"Is she going to be okay?", Erza asked, stepping forward.

Porlyusica closed her eyes and sighed. "Do not worry, it'll be over before you know it." Lucy seemed to flinch at her statement.

Something weird is definitely going on, but hey, it can't be _that_ bad, right?

**Natsu's POV**

I sighed a relief sigh, hearing that Lucy would be okay again soon. Her sight really scared my balls off, I thought she was gonna' die! But luckily, Porlyusica says that it'll be over soon and that all we need to do is to spend as much time with her as possible. I can understand, being sick probably causes you to isolate from everybody 'cos you're not in the right health or mood to be up and moving around.

Master stepped out of the crowd and gestured for Porlyusica to follow him. Everybody swarmed around me and Luce, poking her body and petting her hair. I could see the old man and woman walk upstairs and into his office. Probably to talk about something important.

"Lu-chan! Are you feeling okay?", Levy put a hand on Luce's forehead.

"Lucy! You want a fish?", Happy uttered, standing on my shoulder.

Luce opened her eyes and smiled weakly at the crowd formed in front of her. "I've been better, but I can manage..", she whispered in a hoarse voice. Everybody had to lean in to hear what she said.

"Oh, you poor thing!", Wakaba whined.

"Lucy, Porlyusica-san said that you won't be able to go on jobs in your condition.", Erza said. "I'll help with your rent money in the meantime."

"Me too!", Gray and Levy piped in.

"I'll help too, Luce.", I added, looking down at the pale face of my nakama.

"Thank you...", she smiled weakly.

"I'll get you a comfortable arm chair to sit on, wait here.", Mira said, running off into the guild's shed. Everyone got back to what they were doing, their current subject now, Luce. Meanwhile, she continued to clutch my top, resting her head on my chest.

Mira later came out carrying a large, cushioned arm chair on her shoulders. She set it down in front of a pillar and motioned for me to set Luce down. I walked to the chair and gently let go off her. She shifted, making herself comfortable. I sat next to her and grinned.

"Natsu...", she whispered.

"Hmm?", I replied.

"What... what happens.. when the heart stops beating..?", the blonde sang quietly.

I was taken back by her sudden question. Why would she suddenly ask that?

"Well..", I thought out loud. "You die."

She stopped breathing and looked at me with pained eyes. Then she sighed and went back to her previous state.

"Did you know, Natsu...?", Luce continued.

"Know what?"

"I'm sick... really sick..", she closed her eyes.

"Yea, but the old woman said you'll get better.", I grinned.

She smiled back warmly. "It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you, Natsu Dragneel **(John Green- The Fault in Our Stars)**."

I heard her... but what does 'privilege' mean?

"Huh?", I titled my head.

She laughed weakly, brightening up my heart a bit. I like hearing her laugh. "I fell in love with you... out of 6.5 billion people in the world, I choose you, Natsu..", she smiled, closing her eyes.

What? She.. Luce.. fell in love with me?

"Love... as in- love love?! Like those couples in the movies?! O-or love as in-", I stuttered, denying what she had said.

"Way more than that..", the blonde cutted me off. She opened her eyes and stared at me intently. "Way more than the couples in the movies... more than family.. more than just a comrade.."

I stared at her, my jaw hung open.

"I fell in love with Natsu Dragneel.."

**Normal POV**

Natsu's face heated up crimson red and he abruptly stood up. "G-Gomen, Luce!", he stammered. "I-I forgot I had a mission to go to!" He ran out the guild, grabbing Happy's tail along the way.

Lucy sighed in defeat. Gray walked up to the blonde and sat next to her, staring out the entrance. "Gee, d'he get rejected or somethin'? By the way, how you feelin'?", he turned to the blonde resting on the chair.

"I feel lovely.", Lucy laughed, making Gray sweatdrop due to her _unlovely-_ness at the current time. "And no, _I_ was the one rejected."

Fullbuster stared at her with wide eyes. "Y-you?!", he screamed. Lucy nodded. "B-but how?! And why?!"

Mirajane, hearing the commotion the ice mage made, approached her nakamas. She pulled a nearby chair and sat next to the blonde. "Porlyusica said to be gentle around her, Gray.", she pointed out.

"G-gomen..", Gray apologized. "What exactly did you say?"

"Say to who?", Mira butted in.

Lucy ignored Mira's side comments and replied to Gray, "I told him that.. it would've been a privilege to have my heart broken by you..", Lucy smiled weakly.

"B-By who?!", the Strauss elder squealed, grabbing Lucy's hand softly.

"That damn pyro!", Gray sighed, rubbing his temples. "I don't think he even knows what privilege means."

"I don't think he did. So I kinda' had to repeat it..", Lucy laughed hesitately.

"Annndd?"

"I told him- I fell in love with Natsu Dragneel. Then he stormed away to god knows where! I feel rejected-"

"No!", Mira interrupted. "I bet Natsu just.. couldn't interpret that so fast-"

"So he went somewhere else to get a breather and to process what you just said.", Gray finished. "You know well enough how dense that bastard is. Just give it time." He stood up and stretched.

Lucy went quiet. "I wish I had more..", she uttered under her breath.

"Hmm? D'you say somethin'?", Gray turned back, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope! So I just have to wait..?"

"Don't worry about it, Lucy. He'll come around.", Mirajane smiled, standing up and returning to the bar.

"Gotta' go. See you tomorrow, Lucy.", Gray walked away, waving his hand in the air.

Lucy looked down at her hands, which were curled up in a fist, to conceal the shaking.

"I wonder... how many more tomorrows I have.."


	3. Something in Between- Her Reasons

"-ucy... Lucy... Lucy!"

I open my eyes and found Porlyusica hovering over me. "Mmhhhnn..", I moaned, sitting up. Where was I?

Oh right... I was still in the guild. But it seemed somewhat empty now. I turn to Porlyusica. "Where is everybody? What time is it?"

"It's past 2 AM. Everybody's gone home.", she answered. "You should stay here for the night. Oh, and he-", she pointed behind her to the Master. "Wants to talk to you."

I flinched. Oh god... this isn't gonna' be good.

"H-hai...", I agreed, knowing that there was no way out when it came to Master.

"Very good. I'll be going on home now. If it gets worse, have one of your friends bring you to me. We can't risk you going out on your own, so don't be reckless.", the old woman stated, walking towards the guild's entrance.

"Porlyusica!", I called out to her. She turned back to me. "Thank you... without you, I don't know what would've happened to me.." She sighed before smiling warmly. Then she exited the guild without another word.

My eyes averted to the tiny, old man standing on the end of the arm chair. He looked at me with guilty eyes. I sighed, I could tell I was gonna' have to get used to those kind of looks. "M-master...", I looked down. "I-I'm sorry-"

"There's nothing for you to be sorry about, child. None is your fault.", he whispered, sitting down. "Why... why didn't you tell anyone? If you knew, then why-"

"Huh...", I looked out the open entrance of the guild and sighed. "Oh, how easy would it be to tell the family I love the most- that I would die way before them..."

I saw Master flinch. He put a had on my foot and squeezed it gently. "No one is at fault.", he muttered, the guilt becoming more visible in his voice.

"You know...", I murmured. "The worst part about being sick, is having to see the guilt in everyone's faces."

He sighed, squeezing my foot tighter. "And the worst part about that,", I continued. "Is realizing there's nothing else they can do for you.", I trailed off.

"I'm sorry, Lucy... I am so sorry..", he breathed, tears emerging from his closed eyes. "I'm... so sorry.."

**Natsu's POV**

I look up at a distant window that was easy enough to reach for me. "Happy...", I muttered under my breath.

"Aye!", the blue cat jumped on my shoulder.

"Do you think Luce's awake?", I continued to stare up at her window.

"She's probably already asleep.", he answered. "D'you wanna' go see?"

I thought for a while. Do I wanna' see her? Of course I do! More importantly, does she wanna' see me?

I jumped and caught hold of the window sill. I pulled myself up and opened the window.

"Lucy! Are you still awake?", Happy called out, flying into the room.

I hesitated before setting one foot on the bed. I looked around the dark room, which was filled with Luce's scent. Thats why I like this place. It always smells like Luce. And I like her smell.

"L-Luce..", I quietly called out. There was no answer. "Do you think she's taking a bath, Happy?"

"At 2 in the morning?", the cat sweatdropped. I wrinkled my nose. Although this whole place smelled like Luce, there was no strong source anywhere.

"I can't smell her anywhere here.", I turned back to the window. "Lets see if she's still in the guild."

"Wahh!", Happy whined behind me. "I'm tired, Natsu! Let's go to sleep!" He fell onto Luce's bed and dozed off. I turned back around and flicked him with my big toe. No answer.

"Ha..", I sighed. Guess I'll be going to the guild alone.

I sprinted to the guild as fast as I could. Finally, I made it to the entrance, which was open for some odd reason. By now, Master would've closed and locked the guild.

I slowed down to a halt when I spotted Luce sitting on the same spot with a glass of water in her hand. She was humming a pleasant tune while her eyes were closed. My heart softened at the sight. She looked so relaxed.. so safe and innocent. There was no way I could've know that was far from the case.

"Luce...", I whispered, walking closer to the beauty. For some reason, the closer I got, the faster my heart throbbed inside my chest.

Her eyes fluttered open and I found myself staring at her chocolate, brown orbs. How come... how come I've never realized how stunning they were?

"Natsu...!", she gasped, setting down the glass of water on a nearby end table. Although she looked worse than she normally did, I still found her beautiful. "A-about earlier... I'm sorry! It was so sudde-"

"Aahh..!", I panicked. The second I heard her speak, my heart leaped and my brain danced around. Everything confused me and it was an overwhelming feeling. Once again, even though I knew I would regret it, I resorted to the last thing I thought I could do; run.

**Lucy's POV**

Once again, Natsu dashed out the guild doors, leaving me in complete, utter silence. My heart clenched once more at the feeling of rejection.

I put a hand over my chest and massaged the throbbing spot. "Mmm.. this isn't good for my heart.. why did I have to fall in love...?", I whined quietly.

"Lucy!", Master called from the second story balcony. I looked up. "Do you want to move to one of the guest rooms up here?", he called. Ah..! I remember the mayor, who had built our new guild along with the kind townspeople, saying that he had added 6 extra bedrooms incase anyone wanted to sleep here. No one had used the rooms so far, and no one had actually bothered to see any of them.

"Can I?", I replied.

"Here let me help you.", he front-flipped from the railing and landed next to my chair. I set both my foot down and scooted to the edge of the arm chair. Master held out his hand, which I took, and we slowly climbed up the wooden stairs to the first guest room.

I dragged myself to the queen-sized bed by the window and sat down. "Thanks..", I murmured.

"Child, we need to talk about your life style-"

"You mean the days I have left? Sure. But there's not much to talk about, considering my days _are_ limited.", I sighed, laying down. "Well, it was limited from the very beginning."

"Yes...", he uttered, looking down. "Me and Porlyusica have talked... a lot. And you need to choose your actions wisely. Every second you spend, make sure you will not regret. You can't retrieve the time you have lost, and you don't have a lot to make up for it."

"I know..."

"She said that you shouldn't be walking too much. If you were to be outside the guild, you cannot wander too far."

"So I can only walk inside the guild..? Well, my apartment isn't anywhere near the here, so.."

"Yes, your home. We suggest that you start living here from now on. We'll move all your furniture to this room and I'll personaly tell your landlord that you won't be staying there anymore.", he explained. "Unless-"

"No, its fine.", I responded. "I guess it wouldn't hurt for a move."

"Well, you won't be the one doing any of the work. You just have to hang around in the guild. I'll replace that bed-", he pointed to the bed I was currently resting on, "with the one in your apartment so you can feel at home again."

"Fairy Tail _is_ my home. So I don't really mind one way or the other."

"Lucy...", the old man mumbled. He hopped on the bed next to my head and stroked my hair. "Because of this... goddamn disease-! Y-you're... you're losing your life-"

"No.", I exhaled, draping an arm over my eyes. "No, Master. No. Life is not lost by dying or just some kind of disease; life is lost by minute, day by dragging day, in all the thousand uncaring ways **(Stephen Vincent Benet)**... there's no way to prevent loss of life. And there's no way to get it back."

"Oh, child...", he sang. Precious minutes went by in utter silence. Until he finally spoke up, "Okay, then. You better get some rest. We'll start working everything out tomorrow." He jumped off the bed and walked to the door after turning the light switch off.

"Master."

"Yes?"

"I told Porlyusica, and I'm gonna' tell you. Please, do not tell anybody.", I repeated.

"They deserve to know-"

"I don't care! I-I just.. I don't want to deal with guilt...", I whimpered. "I-I know its... selfish, but... but..."

"We have lost many loved lives. Precious things we know we cannot hold in our arms once again. And all we have, all that they are now, are memories, we cannot change that. And there's no point in denying, so we cherish the only existence there is left of them."

I cried more, tears damping the pillow under me. Hearing the wise words my Master; my father-like figure had spoken to me, made more damn sense than anything I know right now. But, I can't... I can't bring myself to even think about the things they would do if they were ever to find out. It would break their hearts even more than mine already is.

"I want them to have more memories of you, more importantly, I know it doesn't matter now, but I want you to have something to be happy about. Something that proves that you lived a life worth dying for."

"I don't want to spend my final days with them if it means they'll be guilt-ridden the whole time.", I told him. "I can't stand anyone looking at me like I'm- some kind of weak, delicate, vulnerable- fragile little doll that has no chance in surviving one more week! I... not yet..! Not yet.. I don't want them to find out... not yet..!" I tried wiping my tears away, but they just won't stop coming.

It was silent for quite some time. More precious minutes wasted.

"If that's how you want it, child..", he sighed in defeat. He exited the room without another word, closing the door behind him.

Now, it was an eerie silent. No comforting discomfort, no akwardness. It was so quiet that I started hearing things my own mind had made up.

No. I can't spend precious time laying in bed. I need to go out. I need to spend these precious seconds doing something!

I threw my heavy legs over the edge of the bed and lifted my torso up with my arms. "Ugghhh...", I groaned, sitting up. Then the door creaked open, breaking the silence. I averted my attention to a silhoutte of a head by the doorway.

"Who's there?", I called out.

"L-Lucy...", a high pitched voice mumbled.

"Who are you?", I repeated.

"I-is... everything I-I just heard.. true...?", the voice stuttered.

"No. Who are you?", I tried standing up, but like all other failed attempts, I fell back down on my bum. The mystery person opened the door wider, the light from outside flowing into my room.

I squinted my eyes, the person standing in front of me becoming more vivid. Her skin is shiny white, her hair long and white, her dress pink.

Mirajane.


End file.
